Risk assessment: After 'Molly' deaths, former UVA students consider danger

"Molly," pictured here in pill form, can look pretty, but the side effects can be deadly.

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UVA honors student Mary "Shelley" Goldsmith died on August 31 at a D.C. night club, reportedly after taking "Molly."

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A young patient lies recovering at the University of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Poison Control Center after being treated for a severe drug overdose.

The drug in question is thought to be ecstasy, the common name for the far less sexy-sounding "Methylenedioxymethamphetamine," or MDMA, a psychoactive stimulant and popular recreational drug that burst onto the college party and club scene back in the early '80s and was criminalized by the FDA in 1986.

“I don’t know what happened,” the patient says, awaking in the hospital after being treated for some of the potentially devastating side effects that can include drug-induced dehydration, overhydration and seizures.

It’s something that Dr. Chris Holstege, the Center's director of medical toxicology, says he has heard many times from young adults who took the drug for the euphoria it produces. In fact, from the late '70s to the mid-80s an estimated half million doses were administered by psychiatric professionals studying the drug's effect on trauma survivors, according to a 1994 article in Psychology Today. Multiple recent studies published in peer reviewed journals including Addiction and the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggest MDMA can be a powerful tool in treating the psychological effects of trauma.

Other studies, however, offer a grimmer picture of the drug, suggesting permanent brain damage is possible. Side effects can be amplified by the amount of the drug taken and the source of the compound.

In the past month, as has been widely reported, four young adults on the East Coast, including UVA student and Jefferson Scholar Mary "Shelley" Goldsmith, have died after allegedly ingesting the drug, which is often cut with other questionable– and often unknown – substances.

“I’m worried sometimes they’ll think, ‘it will never happen to me; I’m smarter and have no history of medical problems,’" Holstege says of students' mindsets. "But they have to be aware that this can happen to anybody.”

The concerns surrounding MDMA have intensified in the past few weeks following Goldsmith's death in a D.C. club, but at least some of those who have taken the drug— often referred to as "Molly"— say that they won't rule out taking it again.

“I’ve done it twice for fun at Beach Week,” says one former UVA student, who was among those who spoke to the Hook on condition of anonymity. “It makes things more fun. Generally, sensations feel better, things are more exciting, music sounds better. Because it’s a stimulant, it produces empathy.”

“The first time I did it was at a big electric festival,” says another recent UVA grad. “It enhances all your senses. It makes everything cooler.”

Even among users, however, the risks are recognized.

“The biggest dangers are the inability to know that it’s pure, being able to trust your source, and needing to know what it’s cut with,” says that grad. “Molly is not particularly dangerous, but the things they are cut with may very well be.

“I have not [had a bad experience], nor had I heard of one before Shelley. I would not consider it dangerous with moderate use," adds the graduate. "Acute dangers usually arise from over-exertion, not drinking enough water or drinking too much [alcohol].”

Another graduate describes the mental effects the drug can have following its peak, which can last anywhere from three to five hours.

“You get really depressed,” he says. “You get a rush of endorphins the first day, then the next day you’re depleted. That’s what makes it addictive.

“It’s like a vicious cycle, then it becomes a medical issue; it messes with your brain. People say it’s like ‘taking a spoon to your brain,'" he says. "I wouldn’t take it more than once a year.”

Chris Holstege claims that even with these precautions there is no safe way to take Molly.

“Absolutely not," he asserts. "You don’t know what’s in it. Seventy-five percent of pills [purporting to be MDMA] are not ecstasy at all, but mixed with something. Every study done has shown this. You might happen to get PMA in it, one of the cathinodes that was in bath salts.”

Holstege explains that the dangers surrounding the drug go beyond its chemical makeup.

“The dose is based on weight; there are genetics that come into play,” he says. Environmental factors influence the drug's impact as well.

“If I’m at a dance where there’s not good air conditioning, and I’m sweating and replacing it with water and alcohol, ecstasy causes kidneys to retain sodium, and your brain can swell," says Holstege. "You can get seizures; you can have a hernia.”

Holstege recommends taking precautions when going out to popular night events where "Molly" may be present.

“It’s always good to have someone sober, “he says, suggesting that friend might help keep others from making poor choices. “Alcohol can lead to behavior you might not otherwise have done."

And for those who haven't taken his advice— or are confronted with a friend who may be having a bad reaction to the drug, he says time is of the essence.

“In an emergency, you can call the student poison center. It’s confidential, there’s a toll free number, they can help you with everything. The longer they wait for medical care, the harder it is for me to reverse it.”

“I don’t want any kid to have an adverse outcome," says Holstege. "The next pill you take may not be ecstasy. You might get away with it, but you might not.”

The 24-hour number for the Blue Ridge Poison Control Center is 1-800-222-1222. All calls are confidential.

20 comments

“In an emergency, you can call the student poison center. It’s confidential, there’s a toll free number, they can help you with everything."

Uva has it's own student poison center..... hmmmmm

they can handle , everything .

Including the cover-up ?

Seriously? September 19th, 2013 | 9:10am

"Other studies, however, offer a grimmer picture of the drug, suggesting permanent brain damage is possible."

I don't need studies to tell me what I've witnessed with my own ears and eyes of several former X users. Outwardly former heavy users of X look normal. Until they open their mouths to speak. And their slowed, slightly slurred speech comes out. Then watching them in action as they attempt to go about menial tasks at their jobs - they can't keep up. Short term memory issues, rendering them unable to remember how to do things no matter how many times you show them. Or maybe they remember, and do the task fine every day for a month....then one day it's just poof! gone from their brain and they have to be retrained on how to do that task.

Mentally they're fried, and have given themselves completely unnecessary, and permanent, brain damage. What I witnessed took place from '99-2002 at several jobs, in different states, of former X users who at that time were now in their late 20s, in the prime of their lives, and yet despite looking great on the outside, were mentally functioning at the level of a 70-80 year old. Time Magazine I believe it was ran a story years ago about how X works, which in a nutshell involves the brain's neurons dumping all of its serotonin all at once, causing that extreme euphoria. But which in the process, over enough uses, fries out those same neurons.

So yeah, if a young person doesn't mind the idea of being sentenced prematurely to a lifetime of memory problems, slurred speech and incapacitated cognitive function rendering them at the level of their half senile grandparents, and causing them to keep getting fired from every job, and unable to support themselves and make a living, then sure, swallow those X tablets.

Scary stuff.

wholiesmoke's September 19th, 2013 | 12:33pm

This is a pretty good source of hype free information on MDMA and other drugs used in the rave community. http://dancesafe.org/ They offer testing kits to detect the presence of adulterants, the most significant source of potential problems from ingesting popular party drugs after dehydration.

Manitoba September 21st, 2013 | 2:56pm

Cover up, eh? You must not be the same Dakota making tin (in reality, aluminum) foil hat jokes. It's certainly possible that a government/mafia asset put a more effective poison in Ms. Goldsmith's pill. Not that I'm certain Ms. Goldsmith isn't still alive. While there may be more than one answer to the question of what really happened, only one is correct. I don't claim to know which one it is, but I know which questions to ask.

Curious And Furious September 21st, 2013 | 7:06pm

Seriously, what are your feelings on medication without consent, pray tell? All so-called "medications" that the State of Virginia routinely forces innocent citizens to take often by pulling their clothes off and injecting them into their bodies cause severe and permanent brain damage that renders them unable to perform basic work duties up to standards. These people, if they choose to not go on disability (and almost always be required to continue ingesting brain damaging and life shortening drugs as a condition of receiving benefits) and instead attempt to work for a living (often on principle, not fear), based on their abilities (or lack thereof) are then routinely assumed by co-workers and employers to be long term abusers of hard drugs that fried their brains and are then looked and talked down upon, even coldly fired on the basis of these assumptions that they are drug addicts who chose to damage their brains beyond repair. If such a person makes mere mention of the truth of what caused their severe brain damage they will also be looked and talked down upon, ignored, assumed to be excuse makers, distrusted, dismissed, and coldly fired. These people will have to deal with this on top of recurring nightmares and PTSD from what they endured at the hands of the State of Virginia (and at the hands of their own families that put them in that Hell) and if they complain they are called wimps and whiners (if they can even get a word in edgewise), in addition to being labelled brain dead drug addicts, if not in words than in looks from telling eyes. They will also be told by their own friends and family to stop acting like victims, while listening to the same folks who have never endured such treatment and are living a enjoying a far superior standard of living complain about how hard their lives are. And more often than not we will respond "pretty good" when asked how we're doing because it's just not worth it to tell anyone that we go through a brand new Hell every day of our lives. And because we are the strongest and the truest, even when we lie. Sometimes we just say we're hanging in there. We rarely make mention that to be hung is a curse in life as it is in death. And if we post comments such as this people will feel the need to make risk-assessments of us and decide what to do about us based on the criminal actions of others, even if we have spotless criminal records. Seriously.

Or They'll Just Delete The Comment September 21st, 2013 | 7:08pm

Or crack a joke to lighten the mood.

Don't Use Drugs September 21st, 2013 | 7:13pm

I made it all about me yet again!

What I Really Should Have Said September 21st, 2013 | 7:36pm

It's sad that Ms. Goldsmith died of a drug overdose if the story is accurate. I didn't know her so it's unlikely that I'll shed any tears over her passing. I'll give Seriously the benefit of the doubt that he/she knows people who indeed have self induced brain damage from using ecstacy who can't function up to standards at work. I have myself used ecstasy on two occasions in my life, as well as a short period of crack, including an overdose that nearly killed me, and one hell of a lot of weed. I'm no longer on drugs at the moment although I fantasize about moving to Colorado to get even more stoned than Saint Stephen, legally. It still bothers me when people pass judgement on me messing up at work (without adequate, or dare I say any, training) and assume it's all because of bad choices I've made, because while some of it may be, much (probably most) of it is through the heartless choices of others. Of course when you claim to be the Messiah (a time or two) you've got to be willing to deal with that kind of stuff and take it in stride, but sometimes you allow yourself the privelege of responding. And I'm not sure I lost my cell phone, somebody in the CIA, etc. could easily have made a copy of my car keys while I was out at any time in the past, and then stole my cell phone out of my car to make it look like I lost it so as to mess with me and my employment status. That would be F-d up if it were the case! We just need more patience and understanding of others, all of us. Happy World Peace Day!

The Real Nazi Balls September 22nd, 2013 | 12:41am

Maybe the Holy Ghost stole my cell phone and has been doing all that other crazy psy op stuff to me. It's entirely possible. I'm not accusing The Holy Ghost, though. That'd make me Satan, and I'm smarter than that. If I was the Messiah I would know everyone personally, at least everyone who knew me. And I'd cry when they die, but if I was the Messiah, and they knew me, they wouldn't die and there'd be no reason to cry. Or if they did die they would be raised up to Heaven in the end. All sorts of possibilities, I'm not sure if I want to know who I am even if that were possible. I do know who Toby Keith is, even though I've never met him either. He's a country singer who used to work on an oil rig! He wears a Stetson hat that probably cost hundreds of dollars too. Just don't tell me I'm an ordinary guy again, alright? I think I've pretty much debunked that one.

Different Yokes For Different Blokes September 22nd, 2013 | 8:00am

Hell, I've claimed to be Frankenstein a time or two as well. Tell me to go fly a kite on a calm day but if you don't expect a miracle, don't expect a miracle.

Take Me Out To Shore September 22nd, 2013 | 8:03am

Slather me with sweet crude and light a match. Maybe a Sandridge Shorebird will land on my shoulder.

Beach Week September 22nd, 2013 | 5:25pm

Empathy production? It just might do the job if I die as well.

Out To Sea September 22nd, 2013 | 5:36pm

Better than X to see.

Comment Number 14 September 22nd, 2013 | 5:41pm

Like a warm summer day. Don't you know?

uvacoverups September 23rd, 2013 | 2:35pm

Dakota, Bingo! Cover up is alive and well at UVA, just ask every victim of rape how they get silenced, undermined and denied any level of justice. UVA has never expelled any student rapist!

When this tragedy happened, VP Lampkin sent an email to the UVA community informing them of the passing of Shelley G. but didn't mention the cause of death. It was only after Shelley's Dad went to the press to get the message out about "Molly" that Lampkin sent a second email (with the usual egg on her face) that she took the "initiative" to warn the students. Yes Ms. Lampkin, you made it clear that this happened in DC and not C'Ville, and you distanced UVA from the actual incident. Shelley's parents are lucky that this happened in DC and not C'ville otherwise a cover up would have been in order as it always is with the absolute assistance of C'ville authorities.

What Lampkin didn't tell everyone is that drugs and underage drinking are rampant and unchecked in UVA. It's very much a part of the UVA party cult. When things go wrong UVA just sweeps it all under the "alcohol" soaked rug.

Sean re-writes history September 23rd, 2013 | 10:25pm

yet again... even referring to the deceased by her first name as if he had been a friend. Shameless!

At the time the Post and other papers were covering the story of Ms. Goldsmith's death and suggesting that it might have been related to a drug overdose toxicology reports were not in yet. The Post made that clear. I think it was wise of UVA to not be sending mass emails out based on rumor. Don't we still expect more of them than to do that?

uvacoverups September 24th, 2013 | 7:12am

Sean?

@re-writes history. You're a UVA hack. The press wrote how she died but the "community of trust" omitted it. NBC 29 reported it and the following day they reported what her father wanted every UVA student to know about "molly".

Then the HuffPo had a story where UVA came to its own defense claiming that they offer drug education etc. Then Lampkin days later sent her second email. Leading from behind would be an understatement!!!!

There was so much back talk on message boards bashing Dean Groves, that instead of high fiving he should address the drug problems at UVA.

michael sutton September 24th, 2013 | 5:57pm

How fitting for a story on "Methylenedioxymethamphetamine," to be one of the last.

I don't see the Unicorn Tab pictured.
Everything comes full circle it seems. I suppose it easier found at Virginia Tech and without help UVA's dealers are harder to find.

Ecstasy, and a dead adult woman.
Lets review and see if this fits Harrington?

“It enhances all your senses. It makes everything cooler.” “The biggest dangers are the inability to know that it’s pure, being able to trust your source, and needing to know what it’s cut with,” says that grad. “Molly is not particularly dangerous, but the things they are cut with may very well be.. "Acute dangers usually arise from over-exertion, not drinking enough water or drinking too much [alcohol].” Another graduate describes the mental effects the drug can have following its peak, which can last anywhere from three to five hours. “You get really depressed,” he says. “You get a rush of endorphins the first day, then the next day you’re depleted. That’s what makes it addictive.“It’s like a vicious cycle, then it becomes a medical issue; it messes with your brain. People say it’s like ‘taking a spoon to your brain,'" he says. "I wouldn’t take it more than once a year.” I’m sweating and replacing it with water and alcohol, ecstasy causes kidneys to retain sodium, and your brain can swell," says Holstege. "You can get seizures; you can have a hernia.”

Now all that is needed is to read her own words, that she hand typed on Facebook

What will become of that Law Suite that the PR Firm backed - against UVA Contactors?